At a Glance
Luke at a Glance
Luke is the longest of the four Gospels and the first of two volumes. It tells what Jesus did, and Acts tells what He kept on doing through His church.
- Author. Luke, the beloved physician (Colossians 4:14), most likely a Gentile (Colossians 4:10–14) and a faithful companion of Paul. In Paul's last letter he wrote, Only Luke is with me (2 Timothy 4:11). Luke also wrote Acts (Acts 1:1).
- Date. About AD 58 to 61, before Acts.
- Written To. Theophilus, most excellent (Luke 1:3), and through him Gentile readers everywhere. The name means “lover of God.”
- Setting. The Roman world. Luke dates events by the rulers of the day, among them Caesar Augustus, Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate, and Herod (Luke 2:1; Luke 3:1).
- Key Verse. Luke 19:10: the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
- Key Word or Theme. Son of man, which appears about twenty-five times, and lost. The theme is the perfect Man who came to seek and to save the lost.
Loading the rest of this article
Further reading
For Deeper Study
- Be CompassionateAmazon Warren W. WiersbeLuke 1–13. A warm, practical walk through the first half of the Gospel.
- Be CourageousAmazon Warren W. WiersbeLuke 14–24. The road to the cross and the empty tomb.
- Exploring the Gospel of LukeAmazon John PhillipsA clear verse-by-verse exposition in the Exploring series.
- Foxe's Book of MartyrsAmazon John FoxeThe classic Protestant record of those who died for the faith, from the early church to the English Reformation.
As an Amazon Associate, Theologica earns from qualifying purchases.
Continue exploring
How the Bible Fits Together
The Bible is sixty-six books written by about forty men over some fifteen hundred years, yet it tells one story of God's redemption from creation to the new earth, and its center is Jesus Christ.
Open Doctrine